Foreign and Military Affairs

Ex-PM: China doing 'very well' in world

By Ma Chenguang (China Daily Anhui Bureau)
Updated: 2011-05-23 17:20

MAANSHAN，Anhui: China is "doing very, very well" and succeeding in a highly competitive world, according to former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a global forum held in Anhui province on Saturday, he affirmed the growth of China is not only good for itself, but also "good for the whole world".

Howard was in Maanshan attending the 4th Global Outsourcing Summit, which was co-organized by the Asia-Pacific CEO Association, the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Eco-operation under the Ministry of Commerce, Anhui Provincial Bureau of Commerce and the Maanshan City Government, and ran between May 22 and 23 with some 560 participants.

"The growth of China is a great story," he said in an interview on Sunday with the China Daily, noting that Australia has benefited from China's growth.

In office from March 1996 to Dece,mber 2007, Howard stressed he is optimistic about his country's future relations with China.

Based on mutual trust and benefit, Sino-Aussie ties, formally established on Dec 21, 1972, have been good for close to three decades and their basis was strong, he said.

General Christian Emile Quesnot, former chief-of-staff for two French presidents, also affirmed in a speech yesterday that China has had relatively safe and sustained development amid global economic crisis.

Sui Hui, managing director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said in an interview on Sunday that China and Australia were both left relatively unscathed by the world financial crisis of the past few years thanks to the continuous growth of China.

She said China's contribution to the global economy is now "unquestionable" and the facts back this up, adding that many nations now consider China a world "savior" due to its own stability and growth as well as how it enhances the development of other nations and regions.

She noted that China, as well as Anhui province and Maanshan, which is one of 17 prefecture-level cities under the Eastern China province, must now focus on transferring from traditional industrial modes to contemporary ones.

Wang Chao, vice-minister of commerce, also spoke at the forum yesterday, saying the service outsourcing industry is becoming one of the major forces promoting world economic development.

China reaped $14.5 billion from service outsourcing last year, a jump of 43 percent from the previous year, he said, adding that from January to April this year, the figure was $5.2 billion, a rise of 113 percent over the same period in 2010.

Worldwide, service outsourcing generated income of $600 billion last year, while in 2004 the figure was only $400 billion, said Huo Jianguo, president of Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Eco-operation under the Ministry of Commerce.

Currently, China's information process outsourcing (IPO) plays a leading role, while business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing account for only 23 percent and 16 percent respectively, he added.

Wei Jianguo, former vice-minister of commerce, called on Anhui province and Maanshan to bring in more personnel to propel the development of service outsourcing with better policies and technology.

Anhui Governor Wang Sanyun said yesterday the province now has some 190 service outsourcing enterprises and three service outsourcing model cities.

The hosting of the forum in Anhui will help the province to realize rapid progress amid industrial restructuring, he said.

Zheng Weiwen, Party chief of Maanshan, said the city owns 60 or so service outsourcing enterprises, employing some 6,000 staff.

Liang Fanian, director of the Maanshan City Information Office, said the 4th Global Outsourcing Summit, which attracted a large number of participants from around the world, was a huge event for the city, unlike any previously hosted.